The Audubon Reader (46 page)

Such was then the nature of the Mississippi and its shores. That river was navigated principally in the direction of the current in small
canoes,
pirogues,
keelboats, some
flatboats and a few
barges.
The canoes and pirogues being generally laden with furs from the different heads of streams that feed the great river, were of little worth after reaching the market of New Orleans and seldom reascended, the owners making their way home through the woods amidst innumerable difficulties. The
flatboats were demolished and used as firewood. The
keelboats and
barges were employed in conveying produce of different kinds besides furs, such as lead, flour, pork and other articles. These returned laden with sugar, coffee and dry goods suited for the markets of St. Genevieve and St. Louis on the upper Mississippi or branched off and ascended the Ohio to the foot of the Falls near Louisville in Kentucky. But reader, follow their movements and judge for yourself of the fatigues, troubles and risks of the men employed in that navigation.

A keelboat was generally manned by ten hands, principally Canadian French, and a patroon or master. These boats seldom carried more than from twenty to thirty tons. The barges frequently had forty or fifty men with a patroon and carried fifty or sixty tons. Both these kinds of vessels were provided with a mast, a square-sail and coils of cordage, known by the name of
cordelles
. Each boat or barge carried its own provisions. We shall suppose one of these boats underway and, having passed Natchez, entering upon what were called the difficulties of their ascent. Wherever a point projected so as to render the course or bend below it of some magnitude, there was an eddy, the returning current of which was sometimes as strong as that of the middle of the great stream. The bargemen therefore rowed up pretty close under the bank and had merely to keep watch in the bow lest the boat should run against a planter or sawyer. But the boat has reached the point, and there the current is to all appearance of double strength and right against it. The men, who have all rested a few minutes, are ordered to take their stations and lay hold of their oars, for the river must be crossed, it being seldom possible to double such a point and proceed along the same shore. The boat is crossing, its head slanting to the current, which is however too strong for the rowers, and when the other side of the river has been reached it has drifted perhaps a quarter of a mile. The men are by this time exhausted and, as we shall suppose it to be twelve o’clock, fasten the boat to the shore or to a tree. A small glass of whiskey is given to each,
when they cook and eat their dinner, and after repairing their fatigue by an hour’s repose recommence their labors. The boat is again seen slowly advancing against the stream. It has reached the lower end of a large sandbar along the edge of which it is propelled by means of long poles if the bottom be hard. Two men called bowsmen remain at the prow to assist in concert with the steersman in managing the boat and keeping its head right against the current. The rest place themselves on the land side of the footway of the vessel, put one end of their poles on the ground, the other against their shoulders, and push with all their might. As each of the men reaches the stern he crosses to the other side, runs along it and comes again to the landward side of the bow, when he recommences operations. The barge in the meantime is ascending at a rate not exceeding one mile in the hour.

The bar is at length passed, and as the shore in sight is straight on both sides of the river and the current uniformly strong, the poles are laid aside, and the men being equally divided, those on the river side take to their oars whilst those on the land side lay hold of the branches of willows or other trees and thus slowly propel the boat. Here and there, however, the trunk of a fallen tree, partly lying on the bank and partly projecting beyond it, impedes their progress, and requires to be doubled. This is performed by striking it with the iron points of the poles and gaff hooks. The sun is now quite low and the barge is again secured in the best harbor within reach. The navigators cook their supper and betake themselves to their blankets or bearskins to rest, or perhaps light a large fire on the shore, under the smoke of which they repose in order to avoid the persecutions of the myriads of mosquitoes which occur during the whole summer along the river. Perhaps, from dawn to sunset, the boat may have advanced fifteen miles. If so it has done well. The next day the wind proves favorable, the sail is set, the boat takes all advantages and meeting with no accident, has ascended thirty miles, perhaps double that distance. The next day comes with a very different aspect. The wind is right ahead, the shores are without trees of any kind and the canes on the banks are so thick and stout that not even the cordelles can be used. This occasions a halt. The time is not altogether lost as most of the men, being provided with rifles, betake
themselves to the woods and search for the deer, the bears or the turkeys, that are generally abundant there. Three days may pass before the wind changes and the advantages gained on the previous fine day are forgotten. Again the boat proceeds, but in passing over a shallow place runs on a log, swings with the current but hangs fast, with her lee side almost under water. Now for the poles! All hands are on deck, bustling and pushing. At length towards sunset the boat is once more afloat and is again taken to the shore where the wearied crew pass another night.

I shall not continue this account of difficulties, it having already become painful in the extreme. I could tell you of the crew abandoning the boat and cargo and of numberless accidents and perils; but be it enough to say that, advancing in this tardy manner, the boat that left New Orleans on the first of March often did not reach the Falls of the Ohio until the month of July, nay, sometimes not until October; and after all this immense trouble it brought only a few bags of coffee and at most 100 hogsheads of sugar. Such was the state of things in 1808. The number of barges at that period did not amount to more than 25 or 30, and the largest probably did not exceed 100 tons burden. To make the best of this fatiguing navigation I may conclude by saying that a barge which came up in three months had done wonders, for I believe few voyages were performed in that time.

If I am not mistaken, the first
steamboat that went down out of the Ohio to New Orleans was named the [New]
Orleans
, and if I remember right was commanded by
Captain Ogden. This voyage, I believe, was performed in the spring of 1810. It was, as you may suppose, looked upon as the
ne plus ultra
of enterprise. Soon after, another vessel came from Pittsburgh, and before many years elapsed, to see a vessel so propelled became a common occurrence. In 1826, after a lapse of time that proved sufficient to double the population of the United States of America, the navigation of the Mississippi had so improved both in respect to facility and quickness that I know no better way of giving you an idea of it than by presenting you with an extract of a letter from my eldest son, which was taken from the books of N. Berthoud, Esq. with whom he at that time resided.

“You ask me in your last letter for a list of the arrivals and
departures here. I give you an abstract from our list of 1826 shewing the number of boats which plied each year, their tonnage, the trips which they performed and the quantity of goods landed here from New Orleans and intermediate places.

“The amount for the present year will be much greater than any of the above. The number of
flatboats and keels is beyond calculation. The number of
steamboats above the Falls I cannot say much about except that one or two arrive at and leave Louisville every day. Their passage from Cincinnati is commonly 14 or 16 hours. The
Tecumseh
, a boat which runs between this place and New Orleans, and which measures 210 tons, arrived here on the 10th instant in 9 days, 7 hours from port to port; and the
Philadelphia
, of 300 tons, made the passage in 9 days 9½ hours, the computed distance being 1,650 miles. These are the quickest trips made. There are now in operation on the waters west of the Alleghany Mountains 140 or 145 boats. We had last spring (1826) a very high freshet, which came 4½ feet deep in the counting room. The rise [of the Ohio River] was 57 feet, 3 inches perpendicular.”

The whole of the steamboats of which you have an account did not perform voyages to New Orleans only but to all points on the Mississippi and other rivers which fall into it. I am certain that since the above date the number has increased, but to what extent I cannot at present say.

When steamboats first plied between Shippingport and New Orleans the cabin passage was a hundred dollars, and a hundred and fifty dollars on the upward voyage. In 1829 I went down to Natchez from Shippingport for twenty-five dollars and ascended from New Orleans on board the
Philadelphia
in the beginning of
January 1830 for sixty dollars, having taken two staterooms for my wife and myself. On that voyage we met with a trifling accident which protracted it to fourteen days; the computed distance being, as mentioned above, 1,650 miles, although the real distance is probably less. I do not remember to have spent a day without meeting with a steamboat, and some days we met several. I might here be tempted to give you a description of one of these steamers of the western waters, but the picture having been often drawn by abler hands, I shall desist.

Manchester, England

30 August 1830

My beloved sons,

I wrote to you a month ago to inform you that we did not go to France owing to the disturbances there [i.e., the Revolution of 1830], which have so happily terminated (it is hoped at least). My trip to the Continent has therefore yet to come. Your father wrote to you the other day, but I do not remember what he said; therefore I will write while I am in the neighborhood of Liverpool, as I may not do so again for some time. I have seen most of the manufactories of this place while your father has been engaged in trying to increase his subscribers here, which he has done, and he is today in the country for that purpose. Tomorrow we set out for Leeds in Yorkshire, but will not remain many days. However, I will give you an account of the places we go to when I next write. We often wish for our dear sons to partake with us the sights we see.

Machinery is on the most extensive and improved plan here, but it is not in my power to give you any idea of many things. I went to look at the method of obtaining gas [from coal] … and saw the decomposing of the tar and dross, also the immense reservoirs or machines for containing the gas till wanted [i.e., gasometers]. They are of sheet iron, square, about 20 feet [across] and stand in twenty-seven feet of water when empty, but as the gas is conducted into them by tubes they rise, perceptibly to the eye, till nearly the whole body is on the surface.

The
cotton mill we went into is 7 stories high and occupies about 900 persons. Many rooms on each floor, and through the middle is a square platform [i.e., an elevator] from which we were propelled upwards at a good speed, just stopping as we ascended at the door of each room to look in. We descended rather faster but not in the least disagreeably.

We went to see the method of making cotton and wool cards
and I was really surprised at the plan. A machine conveys the wire from a reel a little distance through the machinery, which first makes two holes, then a bit of wire is broken off, all the same length, bent to the right shape and pushed into pieces of sole leather, at a moment one after the other, and this leather is nailed or glued upon boards as we see them in the form of cards. I was glad to see the operation of the circular saw, which divides board into thin pieces like sash board in an instant and no waste or irregularity.

I went to see the calendering of calicos, the weaving of tapes, cords, worsted bindings and ribband. Today I am going to see the printing of calico.

On Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing the
locomotive engines on the railway arrive and set out. They contained about 600 passengers, the bugle was playing and an immense concourse of people assembled to see them. Your father stationed me where I had an excellent view, but so rapid is the flight that there is not time to particularize any thing or any person. The part of the vehicle assigned to the ladies was covered and much like one of our stages; the sight was truly novel and quite amusing. This carriage came from Liverpool, 36 miles, in two hours and four minutes; it returned to Liverpool in one hour and forty minutes exactly.

We went afterwards to see a large
lunar microscope [i.e., a
telescope] which is very fine recreation for a time but fatigues the eye soon. I wish you could both join us tonight in hearing a concert to which we are invited and which from the great love of music the Manchester people have, will I daresay be very good. We spent yesterday at the house of Mr. Dyer, an American of great fortune, a subscriber of your Father’s. The whole establishment is beautiful. I had the pleasure of eating a peach! and found it more flavorful than ours usually, but not so juicy or so sweet. There was abundance of fine grapes and plums and pears. In the garden I saw some rather yellow-looking Indian corn which had been sown on the first of June and was about a foot high yesterday. Mr. & Mrs. Dyer are very agreeable and very kind; we have been quite fortunate in Manchester in kind people whom we have seen.

Your father the other day made me a present of some very
valuable
books which I hope someday we shall shew you; amongst them are the British classics and Shakespeare’s works. I need not say how much I esteem what your father gives me, and when we are no more, you will take care of them for both our sakes, for you could not have parents more desirous of promoting your welfare or your happiness. I only regret sometimes that now I have only good wishes for you, but as the old adage says, take the will for the deed—when you see me again I hope you will find that England & your father’s goodness to me has made a change for the better in me, though a few years more will be added to my age. The paints, canvases, violin, and model of the Tunnel [under the Thames] we could not get ready [to send] now but two months later will not signify. Remember, my dear children, your duty to your Maker, to yourselves and your fellow creatures. Avoid all temptation to err, for few of us would be unblemished if much tried, I fear …